Sparkler composition

ABSTRACT

A sparkler capable of being molded into a self-supporting rigid stick capable of ignition at one end and of burning progressively to the other end with a suitable holder to support it while burning. The particulate pyrotechnic composition comprises an oxidizer, including ammonium perchlorate, a fuel preferably including a combustible binder, and a combination rate modifier and colorant may also be added. The pyrotechnic composition is preferable enwrapped in an outer paper or other combustible material covering.

United States Patent [1 1 McManus et a1.

1 1 Jan. 28, 1975 1 1 SPARK'LER COMPOSITION [75] lnventors: Hugh D.McManus, Bolivar; Voorhis F. Wigal; Robert S. Long, both of Jackson. allof Tenn.

[73] Assignee: Kilgore Corporation, Toone, Tenn.

[22] Filed: Nov. 29, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 310,457

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No.146,366, May 24,

1971, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 149/199], 102/31, 149/41, 149/44, 149/76, 149/20, 264/3 8[51] Int. Cl C06d 1/04 [58] Field of Search 149/19, 40, 41, 20, 44,

149/61, 76; 264/3 R, 3 C, 3 B; 102/31 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,974,015 9/1934 Decker ct al. 149/41 X 2,006,271 6/1935Hitt t 102/31 2,622,277 12/1952 Bonell et a1 264/3 B 3,088,857 5/1963Matusewiey. 149/41 X 3,147,161 9/1964 Abere et al. r r 149/19 3,257,8016/1966 Martinez et a1... 149/19 X 3,262,824 7/1966 McGril'fin et al. .1149/44 X 3,650,712 3/1972 Martin et all 149/19 X 3,674,589 7/1972 Schaabct a1 264/3 R 3,682,727 8/1972 Heinzelmann ct al. 149/19 Primaryl;'.\'uminerBenjamin R. Padgett Assistant Examiner-E. A. MillerAttorney, Agent, or FirmBrowdy and Neimark 1 1 ABSTRACT 13 Claims, 8Drawing Figures 1 SPARKLER COMPOSITION This application is acontinuation in-part of application Ser. No. 146,366 filed May 24, 1971,now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a new type of sparkler and moreparticularly to a novel structure of sparkler and a novel compositionfor making it.

I-Ieretofore, especially on the Fourth of July it has become a traditionfor children to ignite pyrotechnical devices commonly known as sparklerswhich have a handle portion made of wire which is dipped into apyrotechnic composition and the coating is dried thereon. During use,after igniting, the pyrotechnic composition burns with a bright lightand produces a multiplicity of streamers of rays of light which projectradially outwardly in all directions from the device giving a shower ofbeautiful sparks. The sparkler is lit at the far end and the flameprogresses slowly towards the handle as the firework is consumed. Theflame heats the wire and it becomes hot enough to glow requiring aperiod of time after the burning is completed to cool off to the pointwhere it can be touched.

The metal wire core sparkler has been criticized due to the hot glowingwire reaching temperatures of 1,600F. and upward while burning therebycausing more fires and injuries than any other kind of firework, exceptthe firecracker. Various attempts have been made to correct thishazardous condition, such as by the use of wooden cores,'however, suchproducts have not proven successful.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a newtype of sparkler incorporating all of the beauty of the old sparklersbut eliminating the hazards of the hot wire.

A further object ofthe present invention is to provide a novelcomposition which can be molded into a sparkler.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a meansfor holding a molded sparkler during ignition.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of the inventionwhen considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the novel sparkler and its holder according tothe invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the sparkling holder in more detail;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; a

FIG. 6 is a partial view, partly in cross section of a modified form ofthe sparkler;

FIG. 7 is a partial view of a further modified form of the sparkler; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a still further modified form of thesparkler.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1-5 relate to one form of the structureof the sparkler and its holderaccording to the invention. The sparkler10 itself is a solid stick of pyrotechnic material 11 bound together bya suitable binder and enwrapped in a paper or equivalent combustiblematerial outer wrapper 12 extending about the sparkler and meeting at aseam 14. The sparkler 10 is generally about one-eighth inch in diameter,however, such dimension is not critical. It has been found that such adimension results in an effective dis play for the desired length oftime.

The sparkler 10 may be sold separately from any holder arrangement, andthe same holder can possibly be used more than once. As shown in FIG. I,the holder includes a handle 16 having an opening 18 at least in itsupper end. The handle may be made of plastic, wood, paper, metal or anyother suitable material. A common paper or plastic straw can be used asthe handle 14. A smallinsert 20 can be utilized as an adapter betweenthe sparkler and the handle. The insert 20 is provided with a downwardlyextending projection 22 adapted to be received in the opening 18 of thehandle and three upwardly extending projections 24 adapted to receivethe sparkler tightly therebetween. The insert is also provided with aflat base 26 on which the bottom of the sparkler rests.

To assemble, the sparkler 10 is inserted between the projections 24 ofthe insert and the sparkler with the insert thereon is inserted into thehandle to form an integral structure. During burning of the sparkler itis held by the handle 16. During the burning the sparkler composition iscompletely consumed and when the burning reaches the insert base 26 itextinguishes itself since the insert is made ofa non-inflammablematerial. The. handle can then be reused with a new insert and sparkler,or if the used insert is still integral it can be reused.

A simpler form is shown in FIG. 8 where a conventional paper or plasticstraw or other tubular handle 30 is utilized having a hollow portion 32,a diameter suitable to receive the sparkler. For ease in insertion ofthe sparkler, the upper portion of the handle 30 is slit in one or moreplaces 32.

As shown in FIG. 6, the sparkler 34 is a solid body of cast 'or extrudedpyrotechnic composition and binder without the outer wrapper 12 as shownin FIGS. 1-5.

A still further form of the invention is shown in FIG. 7 wherein ahollow combustible tube 40 is coated with a pyrotechnic composition 42.After burning the sparkler composition 42, the tube 40 which iscombustible will continue burning like a match and can be readilyextinguished by blowing on it or crushing it. The hollow tube 40'may bea paper straw conventionally used for sipping drinks from a bottle.

The sparkler portion used in any of these embodiments is made up from acomposition of the following ingredients:

I. ()xidizer 25-50 pts. by wt. 2. Iron or steel powder 3-l4 do. 3. Fuel(including the binder) 3-27 do. 4. Flame Colorant if desired 0-5 do. 5.Combustion rate modifiers if 0-5 do.

desired The oxidizer which is the oxygen supplying ingredient includesammonium perchlorate. A preferred form of oxidizer is a mixture ofbarium nitrate and ammonium perchlorate in a ratio of from 1:10 to l0zl0with a preferred ratio of 2:10. The barium nitrate acts to re duce theacrid odor given off by the burning sparkler and also acts to increasethe sizzle which is a familiar and desired part of the burning sparkler.Strontium nitrate can be substituted for the barium nitrate. Otheroxidizers which can also be included are ammonium nitrate, potassiumnitrate, ammonium dichromate, potassium chlorate, ammonium persulfate,copper chromite, manganese dioxide, barium ferrite, antimony trisulfideand the like.

The metal powder is added to give the sparkles and preferably is iron orsteel particles passing thru 50 mesh screen and held by a 325 meshscreen (U.S. standard). The metal particles are preferably coated withparaffin or linseed oil before mixing to protect them from rusting. In apreferred embodimentthe powder passes thru 60 mesh and is held on 200mesh.

The fuel or fuels which acts as the combustion supporting agent includesaluminum powder and magnesium powder; accelerators such as carbonpowder, sulfur powder; and binders such as starch, dextrin, stearicacid, acrylic powder, such as methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate,and butyl methacrylate polymers and copolymers, cellulose acetate, ethylcellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate,polystrene, vegetable glues, animal glues, shellac, red gum andsynthetic adhesives.

The binders serve a dual function in that they act to bind together theremaining ingredients into a solid stick that will withstand handling,and further they act as fuels to promote combustion. The acceleratorsserve to activate the burning rate.

The preferred range of fuels in the composition is 8-16 parts by weightincluding approximately -7 parts by weight of binder.

The combustion rate modifiers include such materials as magnesiumcarbonate, sodium .carbonate and borax.

The rate of burning of the sparkler is an important function and it ispreferred that the sparkler burn at the rate of approximately 8 secondsper inch of sparkler. Thus, a four inch sparkler according to thepresent invention would burn for approximately 30 seconds.

The colorant is added to control the color of the flame altho certain ofthe oxidizers also act as colorants. Strontium carbonate yields a redflame, copper salts such as copper carbonate and copper chromite yield ablue color, as does dichlorane. Ammonium biborate and barium chloridegive a green color. Other known flame colorants may be added.

The aluminum powder is preferably flake aluminum, pigment gradeof a sizesuch that no more than 5 percent is retained on 325 mesh screen. Up to10 parts by weight of the fuel can be aluminum powder.

In preparing the composition the perchlorate is ground to approximately100-200 mesh and then the barium nitrate (of 100200 mesh) and the fuelsare added and all are admixed by tumbling. The iron or steel powder isadded last and tumbling is continued until thoroughly mixed. Thecomposition can then be extruded or molded to the proper size. By addingsteam, for example, the binder is activated and pressure causes theparticles of the composition to adhere together and form a solid mass.If a heat sensitive binder is used, solidification can be effected byheat alone. With other compositions a solvent can be added, or acombination of heat plus solvent, to effect the solidification.

Typical examples of suitable compositions to illustrate the inventionare as follows:

EXAMPLE 1 Ammonium perchlorate (100-200 mesh) 2.5 pts. by wt Bariumnitrate (100-200 mesh) 5 do. Manganese dioxide (300 mesh) 1.5 do. Ironpowder (-200 mesh) 10.0 do. Aluminum powder (325 mesh) 30 do. Polyvinylalcohol powder 6.0 do

The iron powder content can be varied in this example from 3-14 parts byweight. A gold colored sparkler is obtained. The composition after beingmixed to gether is activated by steam and then cooled under pressure toyield a stick, and if an outer paper is applied before the steam, thecomposition will adhere to the paper.

Additional Examples showing the combination of ammonium perchlorate andbarium nitrate (or strontium nitrate) as oxidizers are given thefollowing table:

TABLE I Ingredient Ex.

Parts by Weight Ex. 7 Ex. 8 Ex. 9 Ex. 10 Ex. 11

Ammonium per- 25 25 25 25 chlorate Barium nitrate Strontium nitrate MnO,

lron powder Aluminum powder perchlorate TABLE 11 Parts By Weight Exv 15Ammonium MnO, lron Powder Aluminum powder 1.5 1O l l0 Dechlorane is atrade-mark of Hooker Chemical Co. for the dimer ofhexachlorocyclopentadiene.

Example 26 parts by wt.

Ammonium perchlorate (100-200 mesh) 30. gms Manganese dioxide (300 mesh)1.5 lron powder (60-200 mesh) 10. Aluminum powder (325 mesh) 2.5Charcoal Powder 0.5 Fine Polystyrene heads micron avg. size) 5.0Powdered stearic acid (100-200 mesh) 0.5

Example 27 parts by wt. Ammonium perchlorate (100-200 mesh) 30 Manganesedioxide (300 mesh) 1.5 lron powder (60-200 mesh) Aluminum powder 2.5Charcoal powder 05 Fine polystyrene beads (5 micron avg. size) 5.0

- Example 28 parts by wt. Ammonium perchlorate (l00200 mesh) 30Manganese dioxide (300 mesh) 1.5 lron powder (60-200 mesh) 10. Aluminumpowder (325 mesh) 2.5 Charcoal powder 0.5 Powdered stearic acid (100-200mesh) 5.0

What is claimed is:

l. A particulate sparkler composition comprising parts by weight of anoxidizer at least one half of which is ammonium perchlorate; 3-14 partsby weight of iron or steel powder; from about 8 to about 15.6 parts byweight of a fuel said fuel comprising a mixture of from about 20 toabout 33 percent aluminum and/or magnesium powder and accelerators plusfrom about 67 percent to about 80 percent of a particulate combustiblebinder, said binder being capable of being activated by heat, solvent ora combination thereof to cause the bonding of the particles; 0 5 partsby weight of a combustion rate modifier and 0 5 parts by weight of aflame colorant said composition when bonded together into a relativelylong thin rigid stick by heat, solvent or a combination thereof having aburning rate suitable for use as a sparkler and being capable of beingignited at one end and of burning progressively to the other end givingoff a shower of sparks.

2. A sparkler composition according to claim 1 wherein said oxidizerfurther includes barium nitrate or strontium nitrate in combination withsaid ammonium perchlorate.

3. A sparkler composition according to claim 2 wherein said oxidizer hasa ratio of nitrate to perchlorate of 1:10 to 10:10.

4. A sparkler composition according to claim 2 wherein said oxidizerfurther includes MnO wherein said fuel includes fine polystyrene beadsas a binder.

9. A sparkler composition according to claim 8 wherein powdered stearicacid is also present as a part of said binder.

10. A sparkler composition according to claim 5 wherein said fuelincludes powdered stearic acid as a binder.

11. A particulate sparkler composition in accordance with claim 1,comprising ammonium perchlorate 3 0 parts/wt manganese dioxide 1.5parts/wt iron powder 10 parts/wt -Contlnued aluminum powder 2.5 parts/wtcharcoal powder 0.5 parts/wt fine polystyrene beads 5.0 parts/wtpowdered stearic acid 0.5 parts/wt.

12. A particulate sparkler composition in accordance

1. A PARTICULATE SPARKLER COMPOSITION COMPRISING 25-30 PARTS BY WEIGHTOF AN OXIDIZER AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WHICH IS AMMONIUM PERCHLORATE; 3-14PARTS BY WEIGHT OF IRON OR STEEL POWDER; FROM ABOUT 8 TO ABOUT 15.6PARTS BY WEIGHT OF A FUEL SAID FUEL COMPRISING A MIXTURE OF FROM ABOUT20 TO ABOUT 33 PERCENT ALUMINUM AND/OR MAGENSIUM POWDER AND ACCELERATORSPLUS FROM ABOUT 67 PERCENT TO ABOUT 80 PERCENT OF A PARTICULATECOMBUSTIBLE BINDER, SAID BINDER BEING CAPABLE OF BEING ACTIVATED BYHEAT, SOLVENT OR A COMBINATION THEREOF TO CAUSE THE BONDING OF THEPARTICLES; 0-5 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF A COMBUSTION RATE MODIFIER AND 0-5PARTS BY WEIGHT OF A FLAME COLORANT SAID COMPOSITION WHEN BONDEDTOGETHER INTO A RELATIVELY LONG THIN RIGID STICK BY HEAT, SOLVENT OR ACOMBINATION THEREOF HAVING A BURNING RATE SUITABLE FOR USE AS A SPARKLERAND BEING CAPABLE OF BEING IGNITED AT ONE END AND OF BURNINGPROGRESSIVELY TO THE OTHER END GIVING OFF A SHOWER OF SPARKS.
 2. Asparkler composition according to claim 1 wherein said oxidizer furtherincludes barium nitrate or strontium nitrate in combination with saidammonium perchlorate.
 3. A sparkler composition according to claim 2wherein said oxidizer has a ratio of nitrate to perchlorate of 1:10 to10:10.
 4. A sparkler composition according to claim 2 wherein saidoxidizer further includes MnO2.
 5. A sparkler composition according toclaim 1 wherein said fuel includes approximately 3 parts by weight ofaluminum powder.
 6. A sparkler composition according to claim 2 whereinsaid fuel includes approximately 3 parts by weight of aluminum powder.7. A sparkler composition according to claim 5 wherein said bindercomprises polyvinyl alcohol powder.
 8. A sparkler composition accordingto claim 5 wherein said fuel includes fine polystyrene beads as abinder.
 9. A sparkler composition according to claim 8 wherein powderedstearic acid is also present as a part of said binder.
 10. A sparklercomposition according to claim 5 wherein said fuel includes powderedstearic acid as a binder.
 11. A particulate sparkler composition inaccordance with claim 1, comprising
 12. A particulate sparklercomposition in accordance with claim 11, further comprising 2 - 5 partsby weight of said flame colorant.
 13. a sparkler comprising theparticulate pyrotechnic composition according to claim 1 bonded togetherinto a rigid stick.